2018 FIVB MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE – WEEK 4/POOL 16
- June 15th-June 17th, 2018
- Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna, Bulgaria (seating 6,000)
- Time Zone: GMT +3 (U.S. Eastern Time +7)
- World Rankings: #1 Brazil, #6 Canada, #9 France, #14 Bulgaria
- Preview
- Schedule/Results
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun | 15:30 | Canada  |
3–0 |  Brazil |
25–22 | 34–32 | 25–23 | 84–77 | |||
| 15 Jun | 18:30 | Bulgaria  |
0–3 |  France |
21–25 | 20–25 | 23–25 | 64–75 | |||
| 16 Jun | 15:30 | France |
3–0 | Brazil |
25–19 | 25–23 | 25–23 | 75–65 | |||
| 16 Jun | 18:30 | Bulgaria |
3–0 | Canada |
25–22 | 25–19 | 29–27 | 79–68 |
France def. Brazil 3-0
- France defeated Brazil 25-19, 25-23, 25-23
- France moved to 9-2 (28 points), Brazil moved to 8-3 (23 points)
Just one day after a shocking defeat at the hands of No. 6 Canada, top ranked Brazil stumbled again on Saturday, falling to No. 9 France via sweep.
The win was the fifth in a row for the French, who are still holding down the top spot in the standings.
Earvin Ngapeth paced France with 16 points on 12 kills, two blocks and two aces, while three other players chipped in double-digit scoring efforts. Stephen Boyer tacked on 12 kills and two aces, while Thibault Rossard downed nine kills, a block and an ace. Kevin Le Roux starred at the net with a team-best seven stuffs to go with four putaways and two aces. Six different players chipped in aces. Jean Patry, Kevin Tillie and Julian Lyneel did not even play in the match.
Star Wallace De Souza was limited to just 10 points in the match for Brazil, all coming on putaways. Mauricio Silva added nine kills and just three other players scored in the loss. Douglas Souza and Lucas Saatkamp scored six apiece and Isac Santos notched five. Souza served up a team-best two aces, while Saatkamp and Santos chipped in two blocks each. Eleven players saw action in the match.
The teams traded blow for blow in Set 1 until France rattled off five straight points to claim a 20-17 advantage. A stuff by Leroux and stellar offense from Ngapeth guided the French to a 25-19 victory.
Boyer gave France an early lead in Set 2, but Saatkamp provided an answer for Brazil to give the team an 8-6 lead. DeSouza came through to double the margin to four (11-7), but the French countered with Ngapeth, Leroux and Barthelemy Chinenyeze to grab a 19-18 lead and carry on to steal away the 25-23 win. France scored five of the last seven points in the stanza.
The teams played to a 12-all score in Set 3 as Leroux helped France overcome DeSouza and Brazil. To add insult to injury, Brazilian captain and setter Bruno Mossa Rezende left the court with a mid-set leg injury. Brazil stayed the course, however, and the teams were soon tied at 23-all. A Brazilian comeback was not to be, however, as Rossard and Ngapeth put the final nails in the sweep.
Bulgaria def. Canada 3-0
- Bulgaria defeated Canada 25-22, 25-19, 29-27
- Bulgaria moved to 4-7 (12 points); Canada moved to 6-5 (18 points)
Boyan Yordanov accounted for half of No. 14 Bulgaria’s 40 kills in a surprise sweep of No. 6 Canada. The loss came just one day after the Canadians bested No. 1 Brazil, while the victory snapped a three-game skid for an injury riddled Bulgaria.
Yordanov scored a match-high 21 points (20 kills, 1 block) and had help from Viktor Yosifov (14) and Valentin Bratoev (12) in the match. Yosifov was tops in blocking and serving with four blocks and three aces to go with his seven putaways. Bratoev chipped in two stuffs and an ace to go with nine kills. Nikolay Penchev scored five points with three coming on aces.
Graham Vigrass was the lone Canadian to score in double digits with 16 on five kills and a team-best five blocks and six aces. Stephen Maar and Gavin Schmitt chipped in seven points each, while three players managed five point efforts. Maar downed seven kills, while Schmitt, Nicholas Hoag and Jason Derocco added five putaways each. Lukas Van Berkel notched two blocks, two kills and an ace. Derocco started just Set 2.
The teams were fairly level in every statistical category except kills, where the Bulgarians boasted a 40-30 lead. Canada owned a slight 10-8 edge in blocks and Bulgaria scored one more point on errors (21-20). Both teams managed nine blocks.
Bulgaria clinched an unlikely 25-22 Set 1 win on a service error by Canada’s Jay Blankenau.
The Bulgarians carried the momentum into Set 2, racing ahead 4-1. The lead stood at five soon after (12-7) thanks to Bulgaria’s blocking prowess. Yordanov and Vigrass traded blows, with the latter scoring a few aces to lead Canada on a 5-1 run. The comeback bid was cut short as errors piled up and the Canadians trailed 20-15. Penchev issued the final kill of Set 2 at 25-19.
Canada would not go quietly in Set 3, jumping ahead 7-2 with help from Bulgarian errors. Bulgaria turned the tables to tie the score at 10. Canada had four set point tries, but could not convert them, with two falling flat on service errors. Bulgaria finally got a shot at the match and scored on a Svetoslav Gotsev block to end the evening.
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